CORTICAL EFFECTS ON THE PRIMATE SOMATOSENSORY THALAMUS

这项拨款建议的总体目标是阐明以下方面的作用： 前顶叶皮质（APC）到丘脑的皮质-丘脑联系 丘脑腹基底（VB）在躯体感觉加工中的作用 信息I成年非人灵长类动物。 大多数关于 感觉输入的处理集中在 从丘脑到皮层的信息，尽管事实上， 或“反馈”预测在许多情况下比 “前馈”投影，并提供了实质性的基板， 影响相关感觉的提取和检测 信息. 大多数已知的关于功能的 皮质丘脑投射的重要性来自于研究 在视觉系统中进行，这表明这一途径 能够改变丘脑感觉的感受野特性 中继神经元 虽然一些研究试图辨别 皮质丘脑输入对大鼠海马中继神经元反应的影响 VB丘脑，他们没有解决的事实， 组织的解剖和功能组织存在差异 哺乳动物之间的躯体感觉系统。 本申请涉及 皮质丘脑连接的功能意义 成年猕猴的躯体感觉系统， 皮质丘脑神经元活动的药理学干扰 APC改变VB中继神经元的反应特性。 此外，本发明还提供了一种方法， 本申请直接解决了这些 通过检查这些变化是否 与谷氨酸或GABA标记物的改变相关， 受体。 希望这项研究能提供更大的 通过解决感觉处理的复杂性的理解 “自上而下”的影响，以及正常活动的变化， 神经元反应与经验或损伤诱导 重组可塑性

The general aim of this grant proposal is to elucidate the role of corticothalamic connections from anterior parietal cortex (APC) to the ventrobasal (VB) thalamus in the processing of somatic sensory information I adult non-human primates. Most studies concerning the processing of sensory input have focused on the ascending flow of information from thalamus to cortex, despite the fact that descending or "feedback" projections are in many cases more numerous than "feedforward" projections and provide a substantial substrate for influencing the extraction and detection of pertinent sensory information. Most of what is known concerning the functional significance of corticothalamic projections has come from studies conducted in the visual system, which have indicated that this pathway is capable of altering the receptive field properties of thalamic sensory relay neurons. While a few studies have attempted to discern the influence of corticothalamic input on the responses of relay neurons in the VB thalamus, they have failed to address the fact that substantial difference exist in the anatomical and functional organization of somatosensory systems between mammals. This application addresses the functional significance of corticothalamic connections within the somatosensory system of adult macaques by examining whether pharmacological interference of corticothalamic neuronal activity from APC alters the response properties of VB relay neurons. In addition, this application directly addresses the mechanisms through which these changes might be taking place by examining whether these changes are associated with alterations in markers for glutamate or GABA or their receptors. It is hoped that this research will provide a greater understanding of the complexity of sensory processing by addressing "top-down" influences over normal activity as well as changes in neuronal responses associated with experience or injury-induced reorganizational plasticity.